Just after final plans for President Donald Trump's triumphal arch were revealed, the administration made a key change that could influence the upcoming vote on the controversial project, The Washington Post reports. Four political appointees were installed as alternate commissioners on the federal planning body.

The commission's 12 members include the heads of the Pentagon, the Interior Department and the General Services Administration, who typically send deputies to serve as alternate commissioners in their place — and because those deputies vote on the panel's decisions, the personnel change alters who sits on the body when it decides the arch's fate. Tammy Stidham, a senior National Park Service official who was among those replaced, had served for several years as the Interior secretary's alternate commissioner and voted on numerous previous projects. Two of the new alternate commissioners are military veterans.

The vote on Trump's arch has sparked major debate because of its proposed location near Arlington National Cemetery. Opponents of the site — including veterans groups, local advocacy organizations and historic preservationists — have urged Trump to reduce the planned arch's 250-foot height or choose a different location altogether.

Before the change, the commission was filled with Trump allies, including those who approved the new White House ballroom, another controversial project — a track record that underscores the panel's influence over high-profile building plans in Washington. The commission's chair, Mark Paoletta, says he plans to approve the arch.

“The empty Memorial Traffic Circle built in 1940 does not complete the grand design authorized and envisioned by the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission and by Congress as enacted in the 1925 law,” Paoletta wrote on X this week. “It is a disgrace to our nation and her noble veterans.”

The proposed arch would be an extravagant concrete structure standing 250 feet tall, with an opening 55 feet wide. If approved, it would rise to twice the height of the nearby 99-foot Lincoln Memorial. USA Today reports that two gilded eagles would sit above the arch's legs, while a gilded winged figure holding a torch would crown the top. The arch would stand across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial, with the two memorials facing one another in the distance.

The plans extend beyond the monument itself, envisioning a surrounding development. The arch would measure 166 feet wide and include an observation deck overlooking the area, equipped with six stairways and five elevators for access to interior spaces and public areas. The grounds would feature a plaza, granite pavers, landscaping, a stone seat wall and pedestrian crosswalks with lighting.

Preliminary plans for the arch were approved in July. Final site and building approval will be determined at the upcoming Nov. 5 meeting — the vote that this week's commission shakeup could influence.